Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1887-02-17
WELDING COPPER.
The Important Discovery of a Scotch Black
smith.
BROOKLYN Eagle


smith
Brooklyn Eagle
After years of patient experimenting
James Burns, a Scotch blacksmith at the
AIleghena Valley railroad shops in Yer
ona, has made a wonderful discovery. He
has found the process in which the unsuc-
cessful search of millions of dollars
have been spent by scientists during the
past one hundred years. This is the
welding of copper. Until now copper
never could be welded. Every known art
science and. method were tried on it, but
all failed. Even electricity was unable
to do it. This unsurmountable obstacle
made copper very expensive metal to
handle. and yet it is the only metal that
will do for large part of machinery.
In making copper steam pipes for en-
glnes and locomotives they had to be
worked up out of the solid raw mass of
copper which was tedious and costly. To
make copper ring for fitting over a
JOINT IN pipes or cylinders, it had to be
cut round out of a square piece of solid
plate copper. This caused waste and the
consumer was charged for the whole
square. The waste could often not be
melted over into another plate, because
by the present smelling methods the
slightest impurity mixing in Il, will spoil
the whole mass. To repair broken or
defective copper pipes, chambers or yes
sells brass had to be used, by which in a
whole days labor the piece could be braz
ed. But should an intense heat ever strike
the brazed part afterward, the brass
would melt and thus the piece be ruin
ed.
With a little vial % chemicals (the COM
bination and names of which are Mr..
Burns secret, hot fire, an anvil, and a
hammer, the Verona blacksmith shows
how in ten minutes he can do all that
overcomes the ABOVE difficulties. He has
always welded a dozen different articles
in copper with as much ease as baser
metals can be handled, and submitted
them to the examination Of Hussey, Howe
& Co., of this city: Park, Scott & Co.,
would not believe he could do it, and to
satisfy them he gave a public test at their
mill, at which Mr.. Scott was present, and
which was accomplished successfully with
the ordinary tools aud rolls of an iron
mill. While showing the result of his ex-
perlments to the reporter Mr.. Burns Of
fered to go to the Office stove and weld
bit Of copper, using tack-hammer. Wher-
ever he can get q fire and hammer he can
weld copper. By the old process of
brazing fourteen or fifteen heats in a
furnace are required to fix copper, but
by his welding process only one heat is
necessary. The weld being the pounding
of the pure copper together, makes it so
strong that it VIII never give out like
brazed parts.
By this new discovery straight piece
of copper can be curved into circle and
then welded together in ring for fitting
over joists, thus saving the waste of cut
ting it from square plate. Pipes may
be made in the same way, being welded
instead of worked out of solid. Mr..
Burns has even'made a copper boiler for
a small engine by his Welding ething
unheard Of Ia the process of welding
the copper is purified, another remark
able feature of the discovery. No i'm
purity mixing in the smelter interferes
and old scraps have been remelted and
welded into all sorts of pipes, joints and
fittings by Mr.. Burns. Old copper was
recently selling at II cents pound, while
the market price Of copper on heat was
SO cents.
A paper recently read by Prof. E.
before the society of Arts at
Boston, mentioned that the new art of
electric welding applied to copper. Mr..
Burns says that is not welding because it
is not hammered. 1t is simply burning
two ends together, and were hammer
applied to it all would be ruined. He
therefore says it is impracticable. Mr..
Burns has spent considerable money in
the eight or nine years he has been pre-
pairing his secret chemical mixture.